behind the scenes | learning photoshop
3.29.2014
I'm going to tell you a secret, the content that I create for this blog is very...shall we say...unprofessional. I basically use a bunch of hacks in powerpoint etc to get my images and collages how I want them. It's honestly, kinda lame but I just never had the time or money to learn Photoshop or any other tool.
One of my favorite blogs recently posted some new "actions" (I had no idea what that meant but they are basically like filter presets) and it fueled my fire to finally learn Photoshop. Luckily, Adobe is currently offering an amazing deal right now - you can get Photoshop (the full version!) AND Lightroom all on the Creative Cloud...for $9.99/month (ends Monday, so don't delay, it's usually at least $50/month). That is an INSANELY good deal especially if you're new to those programs, like me, and want to be able to give them a good test drive. The catch is that you'll always have access as long as you're paying the monthly fee. If you cancel, the programs are gone. Sort of a bummer but especially useful/helpful if you're not ready to spend upwards of $1,000 on those two programs.
Cool so you can now get Photoshop for $10/month...but now what? I mean, I literally have NO idea how to use it. I think I opened the program a handful of times during a graphic design class I took in high school but I didn't entirely know what I was doing. So, if you're anything like me and need structure/rules/guidelines, you're probably wanting to take a class. I'd recently heard about Blogshop which offers Live classes (for $800!) as well as online classes (around $250). I mean, they classes sound AMAZING but my blog isn't making money and that is a lot of money spend on a class that's geared towards bloggers. After some more searching, I found some amazing classes on Skillshare. This amazing site offers online classes on a wide variety of topics from graphic design to garment making to calligraphy. I started browsing their photoshop classes and knew this was the perfect thing. There are two options for the classes: for $10/month you get unlimited access to almost all of the classes or you can purchase the class outright for about $20-$30 and own it forever. Such a steal.
I dove right in and started taking Meg's class that came highly recommended: Introduction to Photoshop - Fundamentals for Beginners. I'm already loving it and have learned some amazing skills in just a couple of hours. See below for an example of what I've learned so far! I can't wait to take more classes as well.
